Japan PM says will take time to provide patrol ships to Vietnam

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to the media at his official residence after Japan and the U.S. issued a joint statement in Tokyo on April 25, 2014. Japan said on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, it was unable to immediately provide decomissioned patrol ships to Vietnam amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea as its own coastguard was stretched by surveillance activities. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan said on Wednesday it was unable to immediately provide decomissioned patrol ships to Vietnam amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea as its own coastguard was stretched by surveillance activities.

As tensions mount between China and other claimants to the South China Sea, countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines are rushing to bolster their maritime patrols.

Japan, itself locked in a bitter territorial spat with China, in March agreed to dispatch a research team to Vietnam as a step toward providing it with patrol ships.

Asked about the possibility of providing used patrol ships to Vietnam to expedite the process, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament: "Surveillance duties are getting heavier for the Japan Coast Guard."